Take not what is not yours to take
by randomramblings
Summary: Legolas and Aragorn are captured by a strange group of man. The kidnappers do what they always do. Will the two friends ever escape ... alive? Chpt 4 and 5 up!
1. Prolouge

Take not what are others 

Summary : Legolas and Aragorn are captured by a strange group of men with unknown purpose. Things take a turn for the worse when they discover who Legolas really is. 

Disclaimer : Tolkien owns all things related to his works. Not making anything out of this. 

- Prologue – Last words of a dying witch

_"Nai tiruvantel ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya"_

_// May the Valar protect you on your path under the sky \\_

The gray smoke that shrouded the old woman wrapped itself around him like the icy hands of ghosts of the past and future. There was a strong smell of herbs in the air from poultices and charmed sachets of small plants.  He leaned forward and placed a few gold coins into the aged witch's clawed hand.

'Now tell me. What do you see in my future?'

For several long moments, the only sound that could be heard in the run down room was the sound of the witch's shallow breathing. He grew impatient and was just about to demand for the future again when at last she wheezed out a few choked words.

'De-feat…elf'

The young man's heart clenched at the thought of defeat and then his heart hardened. No, he would not let anything defeat him. Neither man or elf would ever get the better of him. Not if he could help it. 

He wanted to know more. The hag's eyes were closed. He reached over and shook her roughly. She fell to the floor with a soft thud, a bundle of rags. A few gold coins rolled out from her curled hand rolling over the floor boards before clinking to a halt near the doorway. 

The young man stood up. He had no more purpose here. He stepped over the body of the village witch and walked towards the door. Bending down, he picked up his gold coins, savoring the feel of them in his hands again. He had gotten some valuable information for nothing at all and the thought pleased him. Pulling his fur lined clock tightly around him, he headed out into the night, a shadow in the pale moonlight.

In the morning, the old witch of the village would be found dead by a women who had come to buy medicine and no one would ever know the last words she uttered except Garith the son of one of the most powerful war lords in Gondor.  

_15 years later_

Garith rode on the back of his horse, his back straight and his chin high. He had accomplished much since his father's death thirteen years ago. More in fact, he though, then his father would have every accomplished in an entire lifetime.

The years had hardened him. No longer was he the spoilt son of a famous rich man. He had proven his worth in the world and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. But was that enough he wondered. Would it ever be enough?

A movement at his side caught his attention and he turned his head sharply.

"What is it Gullinne"

"Two travelers have been spotted ahead…"

"You know what to do."

His most loyal and oldest employee nodded his head slightly. Understanding at once his orders. On the surface, and to his town, he was a rich man, but his wealth and richest were stained with the blood of many. Corruption, slave trading, murder, ransom. He had done it all.  Or at least, his men had. He never let an opportunity slip b his fingers, no matter how he had to do it. 

He slowed his stead, letting his men move ahead of him. From the front of the group, the clear voice of Gullinne drifted through.

"Well met fellow travelers. We seem to have lost our way … if you would be so kind as to point us into the right direction …"

The travelers answers were muffled and shortly, a quiet thud was heard followed by the sounds of a scuffle. Garith held his horse back until he sensed the time was right and trotted to Gullinne's side. A still figure lay on the ground while a bound man was being fastened tightly to a horse. For a moment, the man's fiery gaze  met Garith's and he was surprised by the intensity of the look. Tearing his eyes away, he turned again to Gullinne.

"Let us be going."


	2. Chpt I Prisoners

Chapter I – Prisoners

Aragorn struggled in his bonds for the umpteenth time. His wrists already ached from his futile attempts. What did these men want with them? It had all happened so fast. One moment, they had been traveling back to Legolas' home with a message from Lord Elrond and the next they were prisoners  for no reason at all except being rather unfortunate to have met this mad man. 

A slight moan across him brought him back to the present, and his eyes were hopeful as he watched his friend. 

"Legolas, my friend! Awaken!"

Legolas moaned again and some clarity returned to his eyes. He closed his eyes firmly for a moment against the ache in his head. 

"… Aragorn…Where are we? What happened…"

"Do you not remember?"

Legolas struggled to think clearly and suddenly it all came tumbling back to him. 

"We were taken! Why…?"

"I do not know mellon nin …"

The two fell silent as their minds drifted back to the events of the past few days.

They had stopped to rest for the night when a group of man had come upon them. The leader had seemed slightly surprised at meeting an elf, at first, and a gleam passed through his eyes before he spoke again. They claimed they were lost, but when the leader of the group dismounted  to speak more clearly to them, he had taken them by surprise with his attack. The pommel of his sword had come down hard against the side of Legolas' head before he could react, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Aragorn had reacted quickly, and managed to take down their attacker before the rest of the group was upon him and his was over powered. He could only watch helplessly as they bound his friend and threw him over a horse and secured himself to another mount. 

_The journey to wherever they were to be taken had seemed like forever to Aragorn. Legolas had woken once and together they had tried to escape from their strange captors but it was all in vain. For all their efforts, Aragorn had come away with bruises and Legolas was in bad shape with another head injury, a broken wrist and badly bruised ribs. _

Aragorn stared hard at his friend now. His eyes were slightly glazed with and he sat very still so as not to aggravate his broken wrist which sent fiery hot pain through his arm whenever he moved his bound hands. His breathing seemed slightly labored and he rested his head lightly against the pole to which he was bound. His hair clung to dried blood at his hairline. 

"What do you think they want with us Aragorn?"

"I do not know Legolas… I do not know. We can only wait and see."

As though in answer to their questions the door to their cell creaked open and a well-dressed stately man entered. 

~*~

TBC… 

This is kind of my first serious Legolas - Aragorn fic ( Non slash) , so review and tell me what you think and if I should continue this !!! I know this first chapter is a little short… but it seemed the right place to end… 


	3. Chpt II Discovery

Chapter II – Discovery 

The first thing that was observed about this new arrival was that he was the one who had hit Legolas on the head. Aragorn glared angrily at the man. Filthy, lying rat… We had done nothing to you.

"I am so glad to see you awake… My master has asked that these healing herbs be supplied to you."

"What do you want with us? Why have you brought us here?"

"The question can only be answered when we've decided what we have to gain from you…you will see."

With those puzzling words, he walked towards Aragorn, cut his bonds and stalked out of the cell.

Aragorn muttered curses under his breath, before turning once again to Legolas. 

"How do you fare, my friend?"

The elf fixed a wry smile on his friend, not even bothering to answer such a stupid question. Aragorn set to work on the elf's bindings, working carefully so as not to aggravate the broken wrist. When at last his friend was loose, he gently took the wrist in his hands and inspected the broken bones. 

He turned to look the elf in the eye and suddenly distress filled his face.

"What happened to the message…?"

Legolas eyes lit up in alarm as he realized the consequences of losing the letter. Frantically, with his good arm, he searched around in his tunic for the envelope he had kept in the inside of his tunic for safekeeping. 

"It has been taken, Aragorn."

The prisoners fell silent. If the path before them had been dark before, it had just grown darker. 

~*~

Gullinne presented his findings from the two captives proudly. 

"So, the elf is a prince of his people?"

"It would seem so sir."

"He must be valuable to his people."

Gullinne kept silent. It was not his place to do anything more. Quietly, he left his master to his own thoughts.

Long had Garith heard of  the wealth of elves. They were folk rich in lore and possessions, or so the old tales said. Greed filled Garith's heart at the thought of expending his vast collection of riches. The capture of their prince would seem as good as kidnapping to his people. And kidnappers usually demanded a ransom. Now he wouldn't want to disappoint them, would he? It was time to pay his prisoners a little visit of his own. 

TBC …

Anastasia Who : I'm glad you like my stories!! And thanx a lot for putting me on your favorites list ! I'm sorry for the confusion caused. I hope this chapter was less confusing, but if it was, I'll continue trying to make it better… things will become clearer in later chapters. Hope you stick around!

Otaku princess : I'm really sorry about the spaces. I didn't know they would turn out to be so huge. I hope this chapter was a little better! Glad you like the beginning. :o)

Elizabethblack4 : Garith is not Denathor's son. He's supposed to be kind of a really powerful figure in Gondor. Not as powerful as the steward, way below that in fact, but someone with a lot of influence. Am I totally confusing you? Thanx for putting me on your favs list !

Allora Gale : I hope I updated soon enough for you :o)

Bec : Thanx for reviewing! I'm glad you found it interesting.

Tithen min : Wow… I can't believe you reviewed one of MY stories. I've read your fics and they are really great! Thanx for the two cents… now I can add it to my collection of 1 cent coins… if I had a collection of 1 cents :o) 

The Fire-breathing-ferret : What's going to happen next? You'll find out soon enough … :o)

BTW is this chapter too short ? 


	4. Chpt III Now we know

Chapter III – Now we know

They were getting sick of waiting. From Aragorn's reckoning, it had been about five days since they were put in this cell. Legolas' wrist had healed, thanks to the quick healing abilities of the elves. 

Now, he leaned against one wall of the cell staring out of the one window that allowed sight of the night sky above. 

Aragorn sighed deeply. This lack of activity was starting to get to him. If these people were going to do something, he wished they would do it already. All this waiting was just … annoying. 

He heard the heavy bolts on the outside being lifted and titled his head towards the door. It was probably someone with their food again. So he did not pay it much heed, but instead of the expected dinner, a tall, commanding man stepped through, the heavy wooden door closing shut behind him. And then he stepped out from the shadows into the light of the torch. 

Both pairs of eyes turned to face him.

"So… you are the prince of Mirkwood"

It was more of a statement then a question but Legolas nodded slightly anyway. 

A small spark of fear flickered in Legolas' heart. He prayed fervently he would not be used against his father. It felt weak to be so ill used against his loved ones. 

"I see nothing to gain with the two of you trapped in this cell. Tomorrow, you will begin work."

With that said, he left. 

"Well, at least now we know what he wants."

Legolas stared at his friend. Sometimes, he seriously wondered if Aragorn was sane enough to be walking around middle earth. 

~*~

Work turned out to be pushing heavy axles and lifting coal into fires. The heat in the power factory was stifling, and sweat trickled down Legolas' face as he pushed against a wooden beam of one of the wheels used to generate power. The splintered wood cut into his hands, leaving bloody handprints. Aragorn had been assigned to lift coal.

Well, he should be happy, thought Legolas. He was the one who wanted some action after all. 

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed him from behind.

"The boss says we need some of your blood."

~*~

TBC…

Sorry, I know it's another snippet. 

Thanx for ALL your reviews !!! They really brightened my day!!


	5. Chpt IV Never do that again

Chapter IV – Never do that again 

As soon as the guards unchained him from the wooden beam, Legolas struggled away from their hands and sprinted off…

… to where he did not know. He pushed past several workers shoveling heavy loads of coal into a red hot fire with the guards on his heels.  Not one of my better ideas, he thought dismally as he realized he didn't know how to get out of this wretched place. And besides, he could not or rather would not leave without Aragorn. His main goal, he decided as he almost tripped on a pail of boiling hot water, was to keep out of their clutches for as long as possible, whatever good that would do him.

And then disaster slammed into him head first. He stumbled on a mound of coal on the floor and fell into a pile of soot just as the guards caught up with him. The bigger one grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him out, turning the dirt covered elf to face him. 

"Never, do that again." He said slowly, with an evil glint in his eye. The elf absorbed his look but said nothing. A well aimed punch to his stomach knocked all the air out of him and he doubled over trying to catch his breath. Darkness followed. 

~*~

Aragorn was shoved unceremoniously into their new home away from home at the end of the day. He wondered where Legolas was and stopped short when he saw the crumpled body of his friend lying in a corner.

Carefully, turned the prone body of Legolas over and gasped. There was a nasty looking shoulder wound that still seemed to be bleeding. He hurriedly tore off a strip of fabric from his coat and applied pressure to the wound. Legolas moaned slightly at his touch as awareness slowly returned to his eyes. 

"Aragorn…" He said, smiling slightly at the ranger before closing his eyes for a moment as the pain of his body overwhelmed him. He hardy noticed as Aragorn half removed his tunic and undershirt to reveal his bloodied and bruised upper body. 

"What happened, my friend?" The ranger queried quietly as he tried to ascertain the extent of Legolas' injuries. 

"Well… I tried to escape… again… and failed … again. I must admit I am getting a bit tired of being punished for escape attempts. "

Aragorn frowned as he inspected the bruised ribs and checked if the shoulder wound had stopped bleeding. 

Finally when Aragorn has done all he could, he helped prop Legolas up against the wall. The elf was shaking slightly. The amount of blood lost had made him weaker then he liked to admit. 

"So are you ready to tell me why they did this for a mere escape attempt?"

_~*~_

_Legolas awoke in a dark dank place, tied to the mossy walls. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he noticed the guard who had warned him earlier was directly in front of him again._

_"Good. I wanted you to be awake for this." He smirked and then raised the knife in his hand and brought it down into Legolas' shoulder. _

_The elf gasped in shock and pain as he felt the sharp edge of the knife scrap against his bone before being pulled up again. He bit his lip hard to stop from crying out. _

_Much to his horror the man produced a bottle and allowed the blood that was pouring from his wound to flow into it. The elf swallowed hard. The sight was sickening and he turned his head away._

_When at last the bottle was full, his captor corked the bottle. _

_"And now we have a little letter to write … with nice red ink too." _

_Legolas' head snapped up in horror as he realized just who they were writing to. _

_"Ah ha little elf… scared are we? I'm not quite done with you yet. Put us up on a merry chase just now… can't have you doing that again."_

_He grabbed a fistful of blond hair and forced the elf's head up as he cruelly slammed the elf against the wall and punched him …. Again and again and again… _

_The pain faded to nothing as consciousness flew off into oblivion._

_~*~_

The cell was silent save for the dripping of water that seeped in through a crack in the ceiling as the two companions thought over just how much trouble they were in now.

TBC …

There! I finally updated! My finals end in a week so from then on I'll update regularly. Meanwhile, all of you still reading this… hope you stick around! 


	6. Chpt V Pray the sky does not fall on ou...

Chapter V – Pray the sky will not fall on our heads

As the days flew by, Legolas began to heal albeit slowly. Much to Aragorn's dismay, they continued to be made to work at the power factory. His friend was obviously not doing as well as he let on and the ranger had awoken one night, to find Legolas sleeping with his eyes closed. The elf had been waiting till the ranger fell asleep, before he gave in to sleep himself, so that his friend would not worry. 

He could imagine the amount of pain the elf must be in, in his battered state and having to carry heavy loads of coal or working like mules.

Legolas lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his face and his sharp elf eyes caught something which other's had missed. 

Fine hair line cracks were radiating out from a larger crevice in the stone ceiling. Legolas did not know much about stonework but he sensed that such a thing was not a good sign. 

That night, he voiced his concerns to Aragorn.

"Have you noticed that the place is falling apart?"

Aragorn turned to his friend, mildly surprised. He thought over it for a while. And his eyes lighted on the ceiling. 

"Yes…"

Following his gaze, the elf looked up and much to his dismay, noticed that the same kind of cracks formed a pattern on it. 

"There is nothing we can do but pray it does not fall on our heads."

*

It was mid afternoon when at last disaster stroke. A loud crack was heard throughout the place and then crashes could be heard at intervals. The place was collapsing. 

Aragorn was working next to Legolas at one of the large wooden axles when bits of stone began to fall like snow onto them. Acting fast, with all his elven reflexes, the elf pulled the both of them under a protruding bit of stone. He thought grimly to himself, as the entire ceiling proceeded to dislodge itself from its original position, that he should have prayed harder.

TBC …

Note : Please excuse any facts that may appear  rather ambiguous.

That was not a cliffie was it? I thought it was a nice little place to end.  :o) Oh and I'm posting this up on the same days as chapter four because you guys had to wait so long … plus … it's much too short to be posted on it's own. So it's like … chapter IV part two 

Please make my day by reviewing!


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